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William Tell: Switzerland’s National Hero
According to legend, on this date in 1307, William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head with a crossbow. Here are some things you may not have known about the legend. The first reference to William Tell appeared about 100 years after his supposed death. It describes Tell as a leader of the Swiss…
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Suez Canal: A Shortcut from Europe to South Asia
On this date in 1869, the Suez Canal opened. Here are some things you may not have known about it. The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and cuts 4,300 miles off the shipping distance from Europe to South Asia. It’s a sea level canal, so unlike the Panama Canal there…
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Skylab: America’s First Space Station
On this date in 1973, the third and final crew of the U.S. space station Skylab launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here are a few things you may not have known about Skylab and other space stations. Skylab was the first American space station. The station itself was launched during an unmanned…
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Burning of Atlanta and Sherman’s March to the Sea
On this date in 1864, the Union general William Tecumseh Sherman began his March to the Sea following the burning of Atlanta. Here are some things you may not have known about it. The previous year, under Ulysses S. Grant, the Military Division of the Mississippi routed the Confederate Army at the Battle of Chattanooga.…
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Veterans Day, Remembrance Day and Armistice Day
Today is Veterans Day in the United States, Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, and Armistice Day in other countries. Here are some things you may not have known about the holidays. The date marks the anniversary of the end of World War I, and all of the holidays evolved from the original…
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The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
On this date in 1975, the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. Here are some things you may not have known about the ship and its sinking. When it was launched, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. It was built to the maximum size for the St. Lawrence Seaway:…
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Presidential Travel: Going Around the World
On this date in 1906, Theodore Roosevelt became the first American president to travel outside the United States while in office. Here are some facts you may not have known about presidential travel. Roosevelt visited Panama to inspect the construction of the Panama Canal. Of the 17 days spent out of the country, 14 of…
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Presidential Elections: Six Things You Might Not Have Known
Today is Election Day in the United States. Here are some things you may not have known about presidential elections. First off, voters aren’t really voting for candidates, they’re voting for electors. Those electors will assemble in each of the state capitals in December and submit their votes for president. The electors are usually…
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Tacoma Narrows Bridge: The Ballad of Galloping Gertie
On this date in 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in a windstorm. Here are some things you may not have known about the bridge known as Galloping Gertie. The Tacoma Narrows, is, as its name would imply, a narrow strait in the southern Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state.…